1976 FIAT 124 Spider Reviews, Pricing & Specs

While my '67 Mini Minor provided the most visceral thrill on 4 wheels, the Fiat is probably my all-'round favorite car. From it's gorgeous design (why hasn't Fiat revived this one and done a modern interpretation of it? It's one of the best-looking soft-top designs in car history, IMHO...better looking than the 70's MGs even), to its supple leather seats, classic gauges, great sounding engine and truly un-obstructed top-down experience, it is a great little car. My wife and I were walking through downtown Vancouver in 1998 when we came across it sitting a bit sadly in the rain with a for sale sign of $2000. We were astounded that such a cute car could be had so cheaply! We haggled the student who owned it down to $1800 and had the little guy for 3 years. In all fairness, there were an abundance of problems with it, not least a bad roof, leaky engine and rusty fenders, and eventually the chassis separated from the body which rendered it not road legal. However, for what we paid, it was a great car and it served us well. Highlights included going skiing with the top down in sub-zero sunny weather with the skis sticking out; packing out every square inch of the micro back seats and shallow trunk with gear to go camping; all the people that came up to chat because they loved the car too; cruising in virtually any weather with the top down as it was so beautiful to do so!Mar 23, 2008